Under the Three-Fifths Compromise, how much of a state's slave population was counted for representation and taxation?

• A. Three-fifths of the slave population
• B. All slaves
• C. None
• D. Half

Answer: (A)

The idea behind counting enslaved people as three-fifths was to settle how a state's population would influence its political power and tax obligations. At the Constitutional Convention, Northern states argued that enslaved people shouldn’t be counted for representation, while Southern states argued they should be counted to boost their representation in Congress. There was also a tension over taxation based on population. The compromise created a formula: three-fifths of the enslaved population would be counted for both representation in the House and federal taxation. This meant that enslaved people contributed to a state's political clout and tax base, but not as full persons. It increased Southern representation relative to free population, though not as much as if all enslaved people were counted, and it tied both representation and taxation to a fraction of the slave population.